Is it realistic for conveyancing in Suffolk to be finalised in under 3 weeks?

In the event that you are under time constraints to complete we would recommend that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will make use of local contacts and knowledge. It is even conceivable that they could have transacted previousproperties in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Suffolk conveyancing firm. Second, ensure that the lawyer is on the lender panel. It is believed that nearly one in five of Suffolk conveyancing deals are suspended or jeopardised after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors. This can often result in the legal transfer of property being held up by almost three weeks. It is understood that this issue impacts approximately 100,000 home sales annually. Many Suffolk conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.

Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Suffolk?

If you are buying a property in Suffolk your lawyer will request that you put them with monies to cover the search fees. Ordinarily this is asked for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is payable against the purchase price then this will be required immediately before exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is needed should be transferred a couple of days ahead of the day of completion.

We're FTB’s - agreed a price, yet the estate agent has warned us that the vendor will only proceed if we appoint their preferred lawyers as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Suffolk

It is improbable the vendors are behind this. Should the vendor require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Contact the vendors directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred Suffolk conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will earn their estate agent a introducer fee or achieve conveyancing targets set by head office.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Suffolk conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Suffolk conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Suffolk conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be useful:

If they are not ALEP accredited then why not? What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Suffolk in the last 12 months?

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Suffolk, conveyancing was carried out January 2009. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Suffolk with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

With only 68 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

A conveyancing company dealt with my conveyancing in Suffolk half a dozen years ago having stored my title documents but has now closed – how do I retreive these?

Title deeds, as such, are no longer appropriate for the majority of properties in Suffolk are archived electronically at Land Registry. Where you need to establish ownership or are disposing of or refinancing your solicitor will need to obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.

If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned with reasonable haste.